Azerbaijani MES issues statement on fire outbreak incident in Baku

Azerbaijan’s Ministry of Emergency Situations (MES) has released an official statement on the fire outbreak in a multi-storey residential building in Baku’s Nasimi district.

The fire started as a result of an explosion, which occurred in the basement of the building, the first three floors of which are not residential, read the statement.

“As a result of the explosion, the counters, frames of windows and doors of the stationery store (of 500 square meters) located on the first floor of the building were destroyed,” the statement said. “Windows on the second and third floors of the building, as well as in the nearby houses were partially damaged. Firefighters that arrived at the scene extinguished the fire and didn’t allow it to spread further.”

“Stationery supplies were scattered around a 100-150 meter area as a result of the explosion and partly burned. The building was protected from fire. The fire was extinguished by firefighters,” according to the statement.

The ministry noted that according to preliminary information, the explosion occurred due to a gas leak. As a result of the explosion, Zahid Mahmudov (born 1961), a store employee, received burns of varying severity.